[cockpit]

If you're a low limit player and want a pleasant atmosphere in a B&M, the Borgata's new room is great.

If you're a Borgata regular and like to have the "home court advantage" you'll love the place.

But if you are a serious mid-limit player I would recommend that you avoid the Borgata, because although the new room is "the nuts," the floor personnel still suck.

I thought I'd give the Borg another chance today. Here are some lowlights from the floor. The details of the cards are irrelevant to the stories.

1)5-10 NLHE. Three players are all-in on the flop with over $3k in the middle. One player gets disgusted with the turncard and walks pretty far away from the table. Plenty far enough away that the dealer should muck his cards. Instead dealer just deals out the river card. Two remaining players showdown. Dealer then asks for the departed player's cards. A player not in the hand turns them up out of curiosity. Departed player hit a miracle one-outer for the best hand. They have to yell to him to get his attention. Floor awards the pot to the player who had departed the table.

2) 5-10 NLHE Borgata regular is heads-up against guy I know who is a Taj regular. About $250 goes in by the flop. Turn goes check, check. Borg regular leads out for $75 on the river. Taj regular ponders while holding 5 green chips in his hand. Taj reg announces "raise. $200." Borg regular screams that the Taj guy had waved his hand with the 5 green chips past his hole cards before announcing the raise, therefore it's a string raise. Dealer didn't see it and the floor is called. (Note that in A.C. you must bring out a full raise for it to count, i.e. if you only bring out $125 it is not a full raise in this case and the player can't go back for the extra $25). Borg regular loudly makes his case. Taj player says nothing. Based on A.C. rules, the floor has one of two choices: it's either a call for $75 or a raise to $200. It's obvious the Borg regular does not want to make a call for $200. The floor decides the Taj regular's bet is a raise to $150, an amount that was never one of the possibilities.

3) This one involves me. I return from my dinner break and get on a few lists. The $20-40 HE game is the shortest list and I'm number 2 on it. About 15 minutes later the list has grown to 7 names and the first name is called. He skips and then I am called. I am standing right next to a floorperson and he radios to lock up the seat for me. I already have my chips in hand and make the 30 second walk to my table. By the time I get there "SJK" is called for $20-40 HE. I get to the table a couple of seconds BEFORE "SJK," who it turns out had requested to move up from $10-20. It's obvious that SJK knows the floorpeople involved. The floorperson, Crystal, shows me her own list she is keeping for the $20-40 game and says that SJK is ahead of me. I point out that her list doesn't match the board posted in the room for all to see, that she doesn't have my name on her list at all - so it can't be right and how does she know if I am behind SJK?, and that my story can be easily verified by asking the two personnel who called my name and radioed to lock up my seat. Crystal insists that her list is right, which means the list everone else in the room is using is wrong. But she offers to put me first on her list for the next seat! No thanks. I'm not sure what it takes or how much it costs to get my name on Crystal's private list, and I'm not interested in finding out.

Bottom line: if the bottom line matters to you, if you care whether you win or lose, avoid the Borgata's Poker room. Because sooner or later a "home court ruling" is going to go against you. And it might be more than just an irritating seating decision. It may be a table decision that could cost you a lot of money.